Everything Else
by Sunday Wolf Song
Summary: Takes place a few weeks after the movie. Astrid sees Hiccup break down, and comforts him in the dead of night. He thinks up a way to repay her. :D One-shot, read and review please!


_I couldn't sleep last night and this is the story that played out in my mind. Luckily, when I did fall asleep, I dreamed that I had my very own orange dragon. I'm not sure why he was orange... Anyway, I just love these two as a couple. Enjoy!_

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Astrid woke with a start, sweat on her brow and tears in her eyes. She didn't know what it was that woke her, she only knew that she needed to get to Hiccup.

Being rational she knew nothing could physically hurt him with Toothless around, which would wake the whole village of Berk. No, she had a sinking feeling that this was something much worse.

She climbed hastily out of bed, dressed quickly, and ran through the dark village and around to the back of Hiccup's house.

Astrid scaled the wall carefully and perched on his open window. At first she thought she must have been mistaken; he looked quite peaceful for the moment.

Then something changed. Hiccup's face turned fearful even in sleep, and he started muttering under his breath. He suddenly cried out, sat up, and grabbed his bad leg. He also gave Astrid quite a fright, she sat rigid, not sure if he would want her to see him in such a vulnerable state.

Though it had only been a few weeks since the fight that had changed the lives of everyone in Berk, no one really thought much of Hiccup's bad leg. He seemed to do fine. Astrid felt a terrible gut wrenching feeling when she realized that he could just be hiding the pain.

He had worked his whole life for people not to see him as weak. And nothing would stop him now.

So Astrid was taken quite by surprise when she saw Hiccup rest his head in his hands and start to cry. It was gentle at first, but after a few minutes, they became great, sorrowful sobs.

That was when she knew she couldn't take it any longer.

Emerging from the shadows and abandoning her perch on the window, Astrid nearly ran to the boy and sat next to him, gathered him into her arms, and held him.

He flinched away at first, but when she held fast he let himself go to pieces. Hiccup wrapped his arms around Astrid's tiny waist and buried his face into the pale perfect skin of her neck and wept. After a long time it seemed, Hiccup's tears dried and he slumped against the girl.

She carefully laid him back onto his bed and gave his cheek a peck. She gazed at him one more time before slipping out the window and into the dark night.

… … …

The next morning Hiccup awoke thinking the night previous had been a dream. But when he sat up, rubbing his sore leg, he noticed something on his bedside table that had not been there the night before.

A single Astrid flower.

Then he knew how to give his new "foot" a bit of Hiccup flair.

… … …

Just as the sun was setting, Hiccup finished his handiwork. He gazed at it as it cooled, not yet ready to be reattached.

He heard a throat clear behind him. He turned, saw her, and jumped up unthinkingly.

Luckily, years of dragon training had made Astrid quick on her feet, she caught Hiccup before he fell and smiled. She set him back on the bench and knelt in front of him.

"Astrid…" Hiccup began, blushing, "About last night-"

Astrid shushed him and held out a leafy herb to him.

"As you know, my mum is a bit obsessed with plants," Astrid murmured, smiling softly, "Look at me, I'm named after a flower. Anyway, she had this old book of herbs that grow around the island. This one," she continued, staring fondly at the foliage, "has a knack for easing sore wounds."

Hiccup looked into her eyes and saw them shining with pride. He smiled, took the herb, and pulled her toward him in a hug. So what if they were Vikings, a people not very keen on sharing emotions. Deep down, they were just teens who wanted to be close to someone.

Hiccup set the herb aside and picked up the completely cooled metal from the table beside them. He reattached his foot and heard Astrid's sharp intake of breath.

Carved into the metal was a picture of an Astrid. It looked identical to the one the real Astrid left on his bedside table the night before.

He smiled, looking deep into Astrid's eyes.

She picked up the herb again and whispered, "This is for the pain."

"And this," Hiccup murmured gesturing to his handiwork, "is for everything else."

They kissed softly.

Hiccup smiled goofily at her and said, "I suppose that's for everything else, too."

Astrid rolled her eyes good-naturedly and pulled him back in for another kiss.

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_Yes, no? Fail, not fail? Let me know. :D Thanks for reading!  
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